While 27 percent of migrating professionals among the sample group chose the U.S. as a destination in 2000, in 2012 just 13 percent did.

The decline was seen across professionals with bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees.

The biggest drop was among those in the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields, from 37 to 15 percent.

Asian countries saw the highest increase in professional migrants worldwide, attracting a cumulative 26 percent in 2012, compared with just 10 percent in 2000.

Australia, Oceania, Africa and Latin America also saw an uptick in their share of the world’s professional migration flows.

The U.S. attracted 24 percent of graduates from the top 500 universities worldwide in 2000, but just 12 percent in 2012.

"These other countries are attracting not only a higher share of migrants, but also migrants from the top universities in the world," Zagheni said. "That was surprising." The study...counters conventional wisdom that the U.S. is the incontestable top choice for professionals migrating from other countries.